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traditional Bulgarian houses for sale

Bulgarian property prices are still on the decline mainly due to people eager to sell a property.

Recent news updates from the Bulgarian real estate industry have reported that in many cases people with properties on the market are continuing to lower prices up to 20% in an attempt to sell.

The biggest price falls are in towns and villages in rural locations, like the Veliko Tarnovo area, where prices in some cases are nearly half to what buyers originally paid. Village houses continue to offer exceptional value to buyers considering purchasing property in Bulgaria. There is a great variety of rural homes and house and if you’re up for some renovation challenge there are homes as cheap as 4 000 Euros.

Alternatively if you do your homework there are plenty of bargain properties which have been renovated to a very high standard and on the market fully furnished for as low as 25 000 Euros!

Sarafkina House facing the Yantra

The Sarafkine House is one of the crown jewels of the Veliko Tarnovo houses from the Revival Period and is part of the architectural ensemble of the Old Town. The House was built in 1861 for the needs of a wealthy merchant named Dimo Sarafina (saraf comes from Turkish, meaning someone who deals with money, a broker of sorts).

Much like other Bulgarian houses of wealthy merchants from that time (see Konstantsalieva House), the house was designed to serve as a residence and a workplace. Before its completion, however, Dimo Sarafina passed away and the property never got the chance to serve its original purpose.

Sarafkina House facing the Gurko Street

The house then was inherited by merchant’s wife, Anastasia Sarafkata, thus the name of this beautiful building. It is built over 5 floors – all 5 facing the Yantra and the top 2 facing the Gurko Street, where it is also entered from. One enters a spacious vestibule, surrounded by four rooms and other small spaces, illuminated indirectly from the windows upstairs. The lower floors are used for basements and warehouses, which also lead to a large scenic terrace, today overlooking the Yantra and the Boris Denev State Art Gallery.

A steep wooden staircase leads from the lobby to the top floor. It is decorated with a small folding door and a lovely wrought iron railing, which then transforms into the inner balcony. Wooden columns, hand-carved wooden ceiling (resembling the sun) and dark shutters contrast with white plaster and create a feeling of warmth and comfort.

Inside

Sarafkina House served a variety of purposes. It was home of the Bishop of Kyustendil, home to the Orthodox Christian brotherhood “St. Petka” house for the poor, an amusement hall of the White Guards and others.

After its restoration was completed in 1981, the house went under the management of the Regional History Museum – Veliko Tarnovo. It is now a house-museum with permanent ethnographic exhibitions, which introduces the visitor to the main events of the national artistic characteristic of Veliko Tarnovo region in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Tsarevets

Archery, crossbow and spear throwing will be the new attractions for tourists visiting Tsarevets in Veliko Tarnovo. Now, tourists from all over the country and the world will be able to test their skills with medieval weapons starting 19 July, which coincides with the start of the “Stage of the Ages” Summer Opera Festival.

Target shooting will be located in the palace of Tsarevets towards Skull Rock. Weapons – bows, short spears and crossbows are replicas of the original weaponry from the Bulgarian Middle Ages. If you hit the target a few times you will receive a special certificate with wax seal. The price of the attraction will be 5 lev and it will be available until October from 8am to 7pm.

Next year shooting events will be even more interesting, informs the local TIC. Visitors will be able to dress up in costumes and use a 3D background for photos. Shooting tournaments are also planned.